Here's chapter 23, I know I'm not very good at writing cases so I apologize, it's only in there for a back story. As usual I own nothing.
"Good morning." Jane sipped his tea as I walked into the kitchen.
"Yeah maybe." I poured myself a cup of coffee and joined him at the table. "No exuberant breakfast for the first day of school?"
"I figured something quicker would be easier today." He smiled, "I can make something if you have other plans."
"No cereal is fine, do you really think it'll be hard to get them out of bed?" I yawned.
"I think it'll be a challenge." He chuckled, "Alyssa will fight getting up, William will fight getting ready, and Emily will be stubborn and distant, kind of like you."
"Yeah I'm the distant one." I returned.
"Curious you didn't even bother denying stubborn." He smiled and his grin was contagious. I finished my coffee and followed Jane up the stairs.
"NOOOO!" Alyssa pulled the blanket over her head, when I turned the lights on.
"Time to get up." I announced, Jane just went and lifted William out of bed and over to the closet, the poor boy was half asleep.
"No it's not." Emily peeked over the side of the bed.
"Yes it is." I nodded, "You guys have school today."
"Nope." Alyssa shouted.
"Come on look at that William is almost dressed." I tried.
"Cause Patrick is dressing him." Emily pouted slowly making her way down from the top bunk and walking down the hall to the bathroom.
"Come on Alyssa you wanted to wear that dress Patrick let you have from the storage unit." I reminded.
"Nuh uh." She squirmed, it was obvious when William started throwing a temper tantrum as Jane helped him brush his teeth that Jane had been right and by the time all four kids were in the kitchen I was already exhausted. The next battle came with the backpacks and then no one wanted to get in the car. "I'm not going to school!"
"Alyssa we are pulling into the parking lot you're already at school." I sighed, parking in the nearest open spot.
"Well I'm not getting out of the car." She argued.
"You really wanted to go to school a couple days ago." I reminded, getting out of the car.
"Not anymore." She shook her head, while Jane tried to unbuckle her seat belt.
"I want all three of you to listen to me okay." Jane commanded their attention. "I know you're afraid of trying something new, especially right now without your parents, it's not fair that you have to do it at all. But I want you to try, I want you to try for Teresa and I, can you do that?"
"Do we have to?" Emily frowned.
"Yes you have to, but you know what after school you get to come spend a little bit of time with us at work." He smiled, and the kids had already started to comply.
"Do we get to catch bad guys?" Alyssa questioned.
"No but maybe I'll let you handcuff Patrick to something if he doesn't behave on his first day back." I answered, and the girls started laughing.
"Well that doesn't seem fair, I've never had to behave before." Jane responded with a smile, and I honestly couldn't think of an answer for that. "Come here, I want a big hug from all three of you and then I'm going to let Teresa walk you to your classrooms to say good bye okay."
"You're not going to come in?" I frowned but only for a second because with each hug he spun the kid in a circle before setting them down and kissing them good-bye.
"You should be allowed to say good bye to your kids without my interruptions." He smiled lifting William up for one last hug. He had called them my kids, I was still getting used to that, they were my kids. I don't know if I was grateful for him offering to stay at the car what if they started protesting again once we got closer to the building.
"Patrick comes to." William was refusing to unwrap his arms from Jane's neck.
"Oh no buddy but I'll see you after school I promise." Jane used one hand to support William and the other to un-pry Williams little fingers. "You going to be okay."
"No." William's eyes watered protesting separation.
"I promise that I'll be here when schools over." Jane knelt down to the boys level and reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin. "Here you go this coin is worth a lot of money and I would never ever leave it alone for to long so this is proof that I'll see you after school." William hesitantly accepted the coin and put it in his new backpack. Jane got up and kissed Cass's head and hopped back into the car, leaving me to herd the four of them to their classrooms.
Once the twins saw some of the kids from the soccer team they were a little more cheerful about going into the classroom. So with a hug and a kiss they were off, and William had permanently secured himself to my leg.
"Not going." William started again.
"Come on Liam, I promise I'll be here as soon as school is over." I knelt down to his level.
"You come to." He insisted pulling on my hand.
"William I have to go to work, but you know I will be back as soon as I can I would never leave you behind ever." I promised, it took a little convincing and the help of his teacher to convince him he was going to be okay and I was coming back at the end of the day, but after a long hug and kiss I carried Cass to her nursery room and then met Jane in the car.
"You okay?" He frowned.
"Is that couch at work comfortable, I need a nap already." I sighed, "William was fine yesterday, what happened?"
"The last time the grown ups he cared about most left him they didn't come back." Jane sat up a little straighter. "I don't think he really understands everything that's happened, only that his parents are gone and we've…you've taken their place."
"We've." I nodded, starting the car.
"Do you want to drop me off at the house so we show up at work in separate cars?" He glanced over at me.
"We are already running late Jane I don't think we have time." I worried, I knew he asked purely for my benefit he knew the rumors of us coming to work together that would take place, he would never react, but I would be eternally paranoid about all of it.
"I can be late no one would think anything of it." He stated, and that was true.
"But I can't be and if we turn toward the house now I will be." I reminded and he just shrugged. "Jane…what coin did you give William?"
"A half dollar." He smiled at me.
"You told him it was expensive." I shook my head.
"It didn't matter how much it was worth, all that mattered was that he knew I was coming back." He explained, it hurt a little to think that the poor boy thought that Jane might only come back for the coin. "And yes the couch in your office and the couch in the bullpen are equally comfortable, and if you would like some extra privacy I might offer my bed in the attic."
"That is not a bed that is a couple of blankets on a table." I pointed out.
"Maybe, but there were some night I preferred that over the motel room." He chuckled.
"Which will you be going back to on Wednesday night?" I was forcing myself to go through with this, it was what's best, but how long would we be able to keep it from the kids that Jane wasn't living at the house anymore. The way William was reacting this morning I was having second thoughts.
"The motel room, if I left the CBI only to come back to the CBI after everyone left only to leave before everyone showed up and come back again with you, I think people might get the wrong idea." He stared out the window of the car as we pulled into the parking lot.
"Alright, I guess you've thought about it." I parked the car, and started for the door.
"I didn't think you would change your mind so yeah I thought about it." He looked a little disappointed as we both reached for our ID's and then headed for the elevator.
"It's what's best." I repeated what I had been telling myself for a couple days now.
"Is it?" He questioned as the door shut.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I turned to him.
"It means nothing." He shook his head, "I will follow your lead." Why did he do this to me a straight answer would be nice. Well I suppose he has been a lot less subtle these past couple of days, how long had he been subtly hinting at this, what was this, did he want a relationship. Now was not the time to be thinking about it, I headed for my office and Jane for his couch.
Around noon Cho came in with a case, "The kids get out of school in three and a half hours how far away is it?" I groaned, this was going to be an issue now how was I going to be able to work a crime scene if I had to be back in time to get the kids I suppose I could send Jane but he was needed at the crime scene probably more than I was sometimes. But I had to pick up the kids today it was the first day of school I promised them.
"The other side of town not to far." Cho reassured, he was a great friend.
"We have plenty of time." I hadn't even seen Jane walk in. "We'll make sure you get to school in time."
"Alright lets go, get the others and meet me at the car." I ordered it was time to be professional again I couldn't let myself get slack especially on Jane. The crime scene was pretty standard as far as crime scenes went and in the end I left Cho and Rigsby there while Jane and I went to talk to the victims family before I had to get the kids. "Jane the kids get out of school in a twenty minutes." I found him lying on his couch. "And we have someone in the interrogation room."
"Cho's a big boy he can handle an interrogation on his own." Jane didn't even open his eyes.
"That's not what I'm worried about, what if he did it and then I bring the kids back here." I worried.
"Well first he didn't do it, and second if he did do it and he did see the kids he would be going to prison and he is hardly the type to go after children." Jane sat up, "Go ahead and get the kids, everything is fine."
"Oh and you just know he's not the killer do you?" I frowned.
"I do actually, but go get the kids you promised you'd be there the minute school got out." He nodded.
"You're not coming." I questioned.
"Someone has to stay here and supervise." He chuckled lying back on the couch. Whatever I didn't need him to get the kids I mean I don't know why I expected him to come with me.
"Teresa!" William jumped into my arms. "Where Patrick?"
"He's back at work, as soon as we get your sisters I'll take you there okay." I promised carrying him to Cass's room, and then waited with the other parents for the kindergarteners to get out.
"Look what we made!" Alyssa led her sister out of the room with a little booklet in her hand.
"It's a book about us." Emily added holding out her own booklet, only with William and Cass in my arms I couldn't take them.
"Hold each others hands as we walk across the parking lot and then you can tell me all about them on the way to work." I instructed, leading the way out of the building and toward the car.
"Is Patrick at work?" Emily wondered, trying to keep pace with her sister who seemed to be in a hurry to get to the car.
"Yeah Patrick is at work." I nodded.
"Is he catching bad guys?" Alyssa questioned, more like catching zzz's
"We are working on a case right now." I had to set William down to get the keys out of my pocket. "But I don't think we'll be catching the bad guy tonight."
"Is he a really smart bad guy?" Emily jumped into her booster seat.
"I wouldn't say really smart." I buckled her in, "In fact I have a feeling Patrick already knows who it is."
"But you don't?" Alyssa frowned.
"He doesn't like sharing." I smiled, "He likes making me figure it out on my own. But tell me about the books you made." I turned to buckle in William.
"On the first page it's a picture of mommy and daddy." Alyssa started.
"They have wings like the picture at home." Emily interrupted.
"Then on the next page it's you and Patrick." Alyssa began again.
"And then on the next page it's Alyssa, and William, and Cass." Emily cut in again.
"Well on mine it's Emily, and William, and Cass." Alyssa explained, "Then on the next page is our house in Chicago and our house here."
"Then it's me playing soccer." Emily smiled.
"And then we're at the zoo." Alyssa nodded.
"Next we are visiting your work." Emily added.
"We had to present them to the class, and it was funny cause ours are kind of the same." Alyssa giggled, "and I went first so Emily just copied my speech it wasn't fair."
"I didn't copy it, we have the same life." Emily argued as I parked the car in the CBI parking lot.
"We aren't the same." Alyssa pouted, while I unbuckled the kids.
"We look the same." Emily reminded, jumping out of the car with her booklet.
"You are both very different people and special in your own way." I reassured lifting William out and then unbuckling Cass. "What else did you do in school today?"
"We had lunch and Patrick put an extra cookie in our lunch bags, then we got to play on the playground, and tomorrow we get to have a music class." Alyssa explained as we started for the building.
"What about you William how was your first day of school?" I let them lead to the elevator, the boy just shrugged, "Something must have happened." I tried again.
"We colored, and played with toys." William announced.
"That sounds fun." I encouraged.
"Can do same thing at home with you and Patrick." William frowned.
"You didn't make any friends today?" I worried.
"Yes." He looked up at me.
"Yes you did or yes you didn't?" I questioned.
"I did." He smiled.
"You made a friend and weren't going to tell me." I shook my head as the elevator door opened, "What's their name?"
"Alex, we colored together." William giggled.
"You had fun this whole time and just wanted me to feel bad didn't you?" I grinned at the boy who just kept giggling. "Why don't you go wake up Patrick?" I instructed sending the three of them running for the bullpen when I saw Van Pelt walking toward me and she did not look incredibly excited. "What do we have?"
"The guy in interrogation was a bust, but a man came in claiming to be a witness. Cho talked to him and you're not going to be to happy." Van Pelt explained as I shifted Cass in my arms.
"What is it?" I inquired.
"He says he watched the girl jump." Van Pelt frowned.
"Okay so do you think he's telling the truth?" I wondered, at least we had only spent an afternoon investigating a suicide instead of multiple days.
"Jane thinks so." Van Pelt nodded.
"I need to talk to him." I groaned taking off toward the bullpen.
"Boss there's more." Van Pelt called.
"What?" I turned around.
"The man claims he saw a man presumably her boyfriend assault her and then they shouted and he left and she climbed to the top of the bridge, and before the man knew what happened she jumped." Van Pelt answered, great, I just nodded and started for Jane's couch. When I walked in the twins were showing him their About Me booklets and I thought it would be best to wait until they were done.
"You knew." I stared at him. "Don't you think that would have been something I would have like to know before spending all day looking for someone that doesn't exist."
"Well I was hoping we could get the boyfriend on assault and isn't there some way to prove that his abusing her might have led to her…" He stopped and looked at the kids. "The bruises indicated it was more than just that one time."
"Assault we can probably get him on since we have a witness, but proving the other thing will be really difficult." I understood where he was coming from. "If you knew from the start how did you know about the boyfriend?"
"I didn't know it was the boyfriend but I thought the assault was pretty obvious." Jane answered moving William off of his lap to take Cass out of my arms.
"Did you solve the case?" Emily got excited.
"Yeah, we solved the case." I sighed.
"I need you girls to make me a promise right now." Jane announced motioning the twins over. "Never ever date okay."
"Gross." Emily frowned. "I promise."
"Me to." Alyssa giggled.
"That means you to little lady." He smiled down at Cass. "You heard it Lisbon they're not dating ever."
"Yeah good thing no one around here ever goes back on their promises." I teased.
"I suppose it's a good thing they have a whole team of cops to send the boys away." Jane chuckled.
"I'm going to go get the case settled and get the paperwork finished up, then we'll be ready to go home and get you girls changed for soccer practice." I declared.
"Here Patrick." William pulled the coin out of his pocket, as I was about to walk away.
"Can I tell you a secret?" He looked over to the boy who just nodded. "I care more about seeing you than I care about the coin."
"Really?" William smiled.
"Of course." Jane nodded, "How about you keep the coin?"
"Okay." William nodded sticking the coin into his pocket.
"Now I want you all to understand that even though I may not live with you forever and I'm not your daddy I'm not going to go anywhere." He told all the kids. "And Teresa will always be there for you to no matter what because she is the most amazing best friend in the world." I couldn't help but smile before continuing back toward my office.